Why do we hate to love tragedy? It could be a horror movie, true crime docuseries or a nightmarish painting. The other day I saw a disturbing documentary on Netflix. I knew it was unsettling but I kept binge-watching it anyway and felt disgusted afterward.
Why do we romanticize macabre?
…
Michelangelo wrote in one of his poems, “I’m ugly.” He believed he did not meet societal beauty standards.
Despite this, he spent his entire life in pursuit of sublime perfection.
Michelangelo’s David is indeed the most perfect statue in the world. …
What makes art controversial? This is a tough question. Often what demarcates controversial art from non-controversial art is individual perception and subjectivity. When an artwork divides audiences, sparks reactions, and upsets general culture and expectations, it tends to be a controversial piece of art.
Sometimes an artwork might not adhere…
I’m a Hindu. I confess that I know more about Christian art and iconography than Hinduism. And that’s completely okay with me. Over the last two years, I have written some 100+ articles exclusively on historical Western art and trivia. …
The painting Olympia was created by a French modernist painter Édouard Manet in 1863 and the painting Venus of Urbino was created by the Italian painter Titian in 1534.
Both the paintings portray a “nude woman” reclining on a couch or bed. But Venus of Urbino was celebrated in the…
Today I celebrate my first 10,000 followers on Medium!
As I look back I realize how writing has helped me to regain and maintain my sanity. It all started when I left my 10-year corporate career and my mental and physical health both took a backseat.
I am glad that…
In 2017, my husband and I visited Bhutan. A beautiful landlocked country in Eastern Himalayas.
Can you take a wild guess at what bewildered us?
Bhutan’s happiness index? No.
Thunder Dragon, Bhutanese national symbol? Not at all.
Phalluses. You heard me right. Bhutan celebrates phallic art and considers it as…
Do you know that a computer-generated avatar of a teal-colored, pipe-smoking alien wearing a hat and sunglasses was sold for approximately $7.5 million in March 2021?
Do you know that a quirky art project started in 2017 by two Canadian developers has now become a pioneer project in the crypto…
What happens after we die? Is there an afterlife? Or are we stuck in endless cycles of birth and death? Well, obviously there is no definitive answer to this but a sizable majority believes in heaven and hell.
A recent Pew Research poll showed that 72% of Americans believe in…
Can you imagine a gay visual artist in 1950s America who embraced gender fluidity long before the term was even coined? Imagine how difficult it would be to aesthetically portray homoeroticism long before when being gay was not only risky but also illegal.
I’m talking about the gay artist —…
